May 18, 2013

What started off as a strong rumor has been confirmed by the man himself. As Joss Whedon confirms the inclusion of brother/sister Avenger members Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver for the upcoming sequel. Speaking to IGN Joss gave some insight into the reason for including them. While nothing is confirmed it's possible the duo could end up replacing Hawkeye and Black Widow. There had been a bit of backlash from including the non-traditional Avengers members since they didn't actually have powers.

“You know, they had a rough beginning. They’re interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn’t necessarily agree with The Avengers. So they’re not there to make things easier. I’m not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier.”

Oddly enough, Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is being mentioned (via SuperheroHype) as the blueprint for Scarlet Witch. This could mean that Marvel is looking for an actress in her late teens or early 20's for the part. Ronan is best known for her powerful Oscar nominated role in Atonement (shot by Avengers director of photography Seamus McGarvey) and The Lovely Bones. Not to mention her highly stylized adrenaline fueled action flick Hanna. That latter role almost helped her land the female lead as Elf warrior Tauriel in The Hobbit trilogy. Her name being out there does give large expectations that Ronan herself could walk away with the new role. Factoring in her body of work and past experience with stunt/action sequences. Similar to how past stunt training helped Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista land their roles in Guardians of The Galaxy. It's also possible that both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver actors could show up in future X-Men films such as X-Men Days of Future Past. Since the rights to the characters are shared between Marvel and Fox. Saorise worked with James McAvoy (who plays the young Charles Xavier) in Atonement, so that connection might come into play as well.